His Excellency makes the Doctor sound good

Civility? Courtesy? What’s those?

Of course, it depends on your political perspective and affiliation or sympathy; even your subjective tribal kith-and-kin links and loyalties, combined perhaps with your reasonably thought-out strategy for personal survival, then progress, which easily or eventually colours your assessments of our current national leaders.

Now recall two basic points I usually record herein since May 2015 and the APNU+AFC thin-sliced parliamentary electoral “victory”: First of all, I’m one who voted for the Coalition because I wanted the Jagdeo-Ramotar cabal gone; not because I was any “huge fan of the Granger-Nagamootoo ticket. Secondly, it truly pains me these days to have to agree with Dr Jagdeo and attorney Nandlall on varied issues related to the President’s and his Coalition’s governance and government.

As a one-time PNC Elections PR person and government professional, but now still a concerned and interested citizen, I don’t allow any personal preferences to be-cloud objectivity based on facts, evidence, performance. In fact, because I helped the Coalition to “win”, I’m entitled to observe and be critical constructively and fairly. Right?

So here are a few instances – amongst numerous others – where I feel that His Excellency the Brigadier-President and his government have given Doctor Jagdeo and his wily nimble Opposition occasions to wield the political upper hand; to even sound moralistic and somehow “superior”. (Mind you, I never forgive nor justify the Jagdeo/Ramotar evil, exploitative excesses.)

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Granger/Government –vs- Jagdeo/Opposition

By the way, there can be no valid comparison between the two leaders. I mean none here. To be positive, we can actually admire the achievements of both.

In their politically-formative younger days, Granger, after growing up in such places as the Corentyne and Bartica, became a young (intellectual) officer in the army, conscious of ideology. Jagdeo from a little fishing village and the PPP’s youth arm, studied economics in Russia, worked with the PNC’s Haslyn Parris, then was catapulted into the presidency by PPP czarina Janet Jagan. Interesting credentials before leadership or what? But of the two, you decide who prevails in terms of political rectitude, honesty and personal integrity.

But back to how Granger is making Jagdeo sound and look.

Election Manifesto promise(s) aside, His Excellency – also as a military officer- pledged to uphold the Constitution. Instead – Jagdeo and Nandlall are correct – Granger spoke of his own “interpretation” as he foisted his own “fit-and-proper” meaning upon the uninitiated. Jagdeo had the Constitution’s spirit on his side in terms of consensus for the GECOM chairman pick. Instead His Excellency chose exclusionary unilateralism. Perhaps – like Dr Jagdeo – His Excellency – from Arcadia to Atlanta – is depending on his electoral tribe.

His Excellency had committed, most impressively, to resume the moribund but democratic practice of collective bargaining between government and its employees’ representatives. (This paper has quoted him copiously promising outside the Critchlow College.) Alas, now Dr Jag can smirk as Minister Jordan’s good life remains on hold ’til sometime after the latest imposed Christmas-bonus salary increases.

This might be stretching it a bit but whereas Dr Jagdeo was almost vulgar in his regime’s illegal discriminatory sharing out of land and turning a blind eye to Police Force mischief at the top, the same Dr Bharrat might be justified in believing that His Excellency is using inquiries to re-invent the force and share out lands to comrades – deserving or not!

Think tank WPA spokesman Hinds can add to any list relating to the missteps which His Excellency makes to make Honorary Dr Jagdeo look good. What about you?

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Civility? Courtesy? Obsolete!

Okay, I won’t preach. I’ll just observe that Frankly Speaking, we – the well-behaved under-twenties and the old world law-abiding over-forties-to-seventies must not expect any wide-spread civility or cultured courtesies from this dot.com generation. Listen to the school-going youth by the car parks or at the Reggae-Dance-Hall “concerts”. Whilst I’ll never condemn outright certain risqué genres of music, the messages ought to be tempered.

Incidentally, the Jagdeo-led opposition in the National Assembly last week, disgraceful as it was, could hardly have “lost”. If the president had ceased speaking, PPP would have “won”. Had they been expelled from the House, supporter-sympathy would have increased. Vulgarity probably has a place in today’s politics. After all, even accused child-molesters win political support. Poor us.

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That? “That’s neither here nor there”

Many, many columns ago – it had to be after June/July 2015 – I expressed a certain type of “appreciation” for the usages and quaint articulations from Green House spokesman – Presidential top man Minister Harmon. I’ll have to look up those past favourites of mine.

Ranking right up there will be “neither here nor there”. Whether the GECOM chairman was ever CJ of Grenada, as claimed, in the Minister of State’s view “is neither here nor there.”

Great stuff that! “Here where? There where?”

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Ponder seriously…

(*) What is Gabriel’s Pope – Francis – going to do about that vast wealth underneath the premises of the Vatican?

See also

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